Patrick Miller made the first start of his career against LSU last Saturday. (Todd Van Emst/Auburn Media Relations)

AUBURN, Alabama -- Patrick Miller had a couple of days to think about
the situation.

He had almost ended up on the other sideline. Only a numbers
crunch kept Miller, the tall, rangy tackle from West Palm Beach, Fla., from
enrolling early at LSU and making a bid for playing time there.

Miller ended up at Auburn instead. On Saturday, he made the
first start of his career against the school that told him there wasn't enough
room for him to get started early.

"People would say stuff, and that played into it, but it was
no big deal for me," Miller said. "I'm an Auburn player, so I just play whoever
now."

For the moment, Miller has taken control of the starting job
at right tackle, a spot Avery Young occupied through Auburn's first three
games.

Young played solid football on the right side, but Miller,
an early enrollee who saw plenty of reps with the starters during spring
practice, kept working and impressed the coaching staff enough that Auburn made
a change.

"Every week, we have seen improvement from him," Auburn head
coach Gene Chizik said. "When he wasn't the starter, he continued to work.
That's what we appreciated most."

Miller arrived on campus with only 260 pounds on his
6-foot-7 frame. Over the summer, he packed on 30 pounds, only to lose the same
five that falls off of most players once the season starts.

Now, Miller weighs 285, although he's constantly eating in
an effort to raise his weight.

"I want to get bigger and
stronger and be able to move people farther

and down the field," Miller says, "to be quick and strong
at the same time."

Miller's chief asset is a nasty streak. On the practice
field, offensive line coach Jeff Grimes has said, Miller can get furious when
beaten in drills, then turn around and channel that frustration into the next
couple of plays.

On an Auburn offensive line built on running the football
first, that type of mauler mentality can be useful.

And Miller shook off the nerves quickly against LSU.

"You know how first starts are, nervous and all that,"
right guard Chad Slade. "But I believe after the first series he played pretty
good."

Regularly matched up against pass-rushing terror
Barkevious Mingo on Saturday, Miller held his own in his first start.

Asked to play all of the snaps a week after burning his
redshirt with a relief role against Louisiana-Monroe, Miller tried to match the
physicality of LSU's defense with his own brand of tough blocking.

"For his first game ever starting – against LSU – he did a
really nice job," Chizik said. "He tried to play physical."

Now, Miller is trying to hold onto his starting spot on
the right side. Competition for spots on the offensive line has been fierce
throughout the season – guard Christian Westerman is also pushing for time –
and Avery Young's athletic ability means that Miller will likely be battling
for snaps throughout the season.

"I wouldn't say that it's fluid necessarily, but as we've
really tried to say since the start of the season, no job is necessarily
guaranteed," offensive line coach Jeff Grimes said. "

Right now, Miller's the starter going into Auburn's SEC
West game against Arkansas next week.

And after mixing it up against some familiar faces, he'll
be much better prepared next Saturday.

"A lot more
comfortable," Miller said. "I've already played a game, and that's taken the
edge off."